Once again, Whitey wins

By Adrian Walker, Globe Columnist, 9/4/2003

US District Judge George A. O'Toole's task yesterday was to handle the sentencing of John "Jackie" Bulger, the least-known of the three famous Bulger brothers. Jackie had been convicted of two counts each of perjury and obstruction of justice, all in connection with his efforts to help his brother, James J. "Whitey" Bulger, elude justice.

There are those who feel sorry for Jackie Bulger, who believe he is a good person who found himself trapped between family commitments and his obligations as a citizen.

They can feel a little less sorry for him this morning. For lying to two grand juries, among other shenanigans, Bulger, 65, will serve a mere six months in federal prison.

To put his sentence into perspective, the government had sought a sentence of 42 to 51 months. The federal probation office had suggested 18 months. Bulger's lawyer, George Gormley, naturally thought his client should serve no time.

He didn't get that, but Bulger's sentence is a lot closer to nothing than it is to 41 months.

The crux of the argument for light time was familiar: Jackie didn't really know what Whitey was up to. That is, his knowledge was limited to "newpaper accounts" that obviously didn't begin to convey to him that his brother is a dangerous man to do favors for.

So when Jackie Bulger lied to a grand jury about making a rent payment for a safe deposit box in Clearwater, Fla., he didn't really know what he was doing.

Similarly, when he perjured himself again, two years later, by saying he hadn't had any "direct or indirect" contact with Whitey -- by then on the lam -- he didn't know what was going on then either.

And when he donned a fake moustache and took pictures to help furnish Whitey a fake ID, again, it was almost innocent.

Whitey, by the way, didn't like the pictures of his look-alike brother, and had a different fake ID made up with pictures of himself. How's that for gratitude?

It is astonishing how little the Bulger brothers know about one another, how much they've had to learn from the papers. I have two brothers and, I must say, we know each other a whole lot better than Jackie and Billy seem to know Whitey.

The rest of Jackie Bulger's defense also rang familiar. This was, yet again, a case of family ties. Loyalty calls.

They've paid a price for their loyalty recently, with William M. Bulger pushed out of the University of Massachusetts presidency and Jackie now headed for a sojourn in federal custody. Jackie Bulger, a retired clerk magistrate in Boston Juvenile Court, also has forfeited his $3,738 a month pension.

The thoughts of US Attorney Michael Sullivan on this business of family loyalty rang true.

"James Whitey Bulger has not shown any loyalty to family members he left behind." he said yesterday. "I'm not surprised by that. I've never for one minute thought James Whitey Bulger had any loyalty to anyone but himself."

Sullivan said he and the members of the Bulger Fugitive Task Force are confident that one day Whitey will return to the courthouse in South Boston to answer for his crimes.

We'll see about that. You couldn't blame Sullivan for his evident frustration, watching another Bulger slip away.

A few minutes after the US attorney finished ripping the sentence, a black car pulled up in front of the courthouse. Jackie Bulger climbed in along with his lawyer and some family members.

The inevitable crowd of photographers snapped away, as a handful of reporters yelled questions destined to be ignored. Just as the car was pulling away, Jackie quipped to one reporter, "Hey, stick your arm in." So it could be ripped off -- funny, no?

With that, Short-time Jackie rolled away. He starts serving his time next month.

Whitey wins again.

Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com.